Island Paradise and 5 Seconds' Disaster

I Googled 50 Dates in 50 Days just to see what would come up. It's amazing to see that the whole first page of search results were about my experience. It's also amazing that I just got an e-mail to be interviewed by Reader's Digest. Though this experience was over months ago, the readership hasn't ceased. This is fantastic because the more people that know about the book, the better!

I also stumbled upon a few people's blogs who wrote about my 50 dates. One that I found particularly entertaining was This One. I was particularly happy to read all of the comments.

On another note, it's amazing that I can go almost anywhere and find Starbucks. Is this a good or bad thing? I find comfort in the same drinks, sights and sounds offered by this American giant. However, others argue that the large chain distracts from local business.

If that is in fact the case, then I am distracting from local Hawaiian shops. Yes, you read correctly, I'm at Starbucks in Hawaii; Honolulu to be exact.

It's amazing that there is a large metropolitan city right on the shores of this beautiful island. It's a bit boggling but a fantastic place nonetheless. I have met heaps of amazing people starting from the moment that I set foot off the plane and onto Hawaiian soil.

My days have been spent meeting interesting folk, riding my bicycle (yes, I bought it along in a big box), sitting on the beach and working on the book. Speaking of the book, when I Googled 50 Dates in 50 Days, I discovered that someone did the same thing in the States. However, she dated a man in each state. Then I found out that someone globe trotted to find Mr. Right and wrote a book about it.

For a second, I panicked as I thought that maybe the stories are too similar to mine. Then, I quickly relaxed and realized that everyone's story is unique and so what if a few other women went on similar dating quests. That's three of us that I have read about so far. Three out of millions. It will be okay, the book is still unique.

What is also unique is 5 Seconds' experience that I am still following. I apologize for the delay in the update. For those of you who don't know, I am following a friend and date's quest to find true love. This is his last week-end of the journey that, in fact, ends tomorrow.

Last week, he said the following:

I ended up canceling my trip to Toronto because ultimately I am looking for someone special and after some thought that’s just way too far to start anything serious. There are fabulous women in town, and even if I don’t meet the girl I’m looking for out of this experience my odds are much better if I keep it local.

So, my next date since the last update was with Contagious. I have known this girl for a couple of years and she gets her nickname from her contagious smile and laugh. When she’s doing either it’s impossible not to follow suit. When we first met she was seeing someone, and when that didn’t work out I happened to be in a long term relationship so the timing was never right to see if there was anything worth pursuing in a dating frame.

She’s been following the blog since it started and wanted to change things up. We went for breakfast, chatted and overall, enjoyed each others company. We then went for a walk around a river out in the mountains and stopped to enjoy a great vantage point for quite some time before I needed to get home for another date. It was a lovely time and we made some plans to get together later the next week.

Next, I met Disaster. This date was the worst to date, not just on this adventure, but I’d say ever. I didn’t take a lot of time to get to know Disaster after she messaged me on a dating website as there isn’t much time left in the month. I guess you could say that I missed a few red flags. She turned out to be quite a good liar and I’m assuming she’s been running this destructive life-style for a while.

I arrived at her place as I was going to cook her dinner; that part of the date went off well. She was attractive, outgoing and fun. We talking for a while and she mentioned she was going to put on a movie. She made me a drink and we sat down.

We were close on the couch when I heard some keys at the front door and another guy came in. He looked over and when saw us on the couch, his demeanor shifted quickly. I could tell this was not going to be a good situation so I stood up and asked who he was. He was far from calm at this point and rightfully so. He asked who I was in a cursive manor and as I turned to point at Disaster, I mentioned I had just met her today and we were on a date. Just then, I took a rather decent shot to my face and I’m sporting quite the shiner now. I have never been on the other end of the situation but I was compassionate to what he must have be feeling so I didn’t want to escalate the situation at all. I put up my hands, palms towards him, and mentioned that I didn’t want a fight and that I had no idea she was involved with someone. He kind of took a step back and pointed at Disaster and said “We’re done this time!” and he left.

What an awkward first date - Needless to say I have not planned another meeting with Disaster.

Sky - I still can't believe this story about disaster. I find it unbelievable that anyone would invite someone over for a date when they have a boyfriend - especially a boyfriend who could show up at anytime. What is this world coming to?